[utahagen]

I agree that this was a lousy decision. Pot should be legalized across the board. Alcohol is much, much more destructive to some peoples' lives than pot is (or could be, in my opinion). Keeping marijuana illegal is asinine.

[willyd]

The reason pot is considered a gateway drug is because it is usually a person's first foray into the illegal realm. Because the effects are temporary and relatively innocuous, they get a false sense of security about the safety of other illegal drugs. Legalizing would remove the stigma as well as the association with other much more dangerous drugs. This would also destroy the gateway effect argument that has been thrown around like the fertilizer it is for some years now.